CONCERT CRAZY

1998: The HFSmas Nutcracker w/ Everlast, Soul Coughing, Cake, Garbage and Hole at the Patriot Center--had a blast with Ms. Kate and the Wilson boyz aside from a skanky incident. / Cake at the 9:30...a pleasant experience overall, with only a bit of aggravation from a certain poking concertgoer who was unhappy with their playlist. ("Walk on by!") / Aretha Franklin at Constitution Hall--nice to play dress-up for a change.  She blew Celine's Titanic song out of the water, and I'm lovin' that son of hers. / Lenny Kravitz at the 9:30--Da bomb, let's hope he stays the funky boy he is! (It was truly a stadium event in a tiny venue and well worth it.) / Soul Coughing at the 9:30--Loved it, love that big ol' bass, they sound funkaliciously amazing and were the singular, best find of 1998--gracias Pisto!! / Dada at the Bayou--Yes! They were unbelievable, and I wish the world would get wise to them already, and a great big snif at the loss of the Bayou. / Cracker at the 9:30--Great for some last-minute fun... Yelled at the chick who stood in front of us, even though she was, ahem, with the label... / Cowboy Junkies at Wolf Trap--yawn... we slept in the grass through most of it. / Lou Reed at the 9:30--awesome but layed back, he's still the man. Glad we didn't miss it. / The Tibetan Freedom Concert w/ Radiohead, REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Dave Matthews, Herbie Hancock et al... oh Lordie, don't ask. A nasty stroke of lightning hit an innocent concertgoer a few rows down just after Herbie hit the stage. We thought it was stage antics (no rain and merely a gray sky), but the smell told us otherwise. Mr. Stipe then bid us adieu and we shuffled out like sad cattle, to a gloriously blazing sun, no less. Rumor has it that Radiohead played a secret show at the 9:30 that night, and that news made it a little worse. Good news: the lightning victim was brought back to the here and now after fifteen minutes of CPR. (No concert's worth that.) / The HFStival w/ Semisonic, Soul Coughing, Marcy Playground, Wyclef Jean, Barenaked Ladies, Everclear, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, B-52s, Foo Fighters, Scott Weiland, Green Day and Crystal Method... What a line-up! Best ever in our books, and a perfect day to boot. Here's the wordy review (want you to feel like you were there, afterall).